Biographical Data

“The Sage of Moberly” as Jack Conroy was known, was born December 5, 1898 in a coal mining camp (Monkey’s Nest) near Moberly. His parents were Thomas E. (Tom) Conroy and Elizabeth Jane McCullough McKiernan Conroy. 1920’s Attended the University of Missouri-Columbia for one semester and held various factory jobs in Des Moines, Hannibal, Detroit and Toledo. 1931-1932 Edited The Rebel Poet. 1933 Founded The Anvil. First novel, The Disinherited, published. 1935 Received a Guggenheim Fellowship to write about migrant workers. Second novel, A World to Win published. 1938-1942 Moved to Chicago. Edited, with Nelson Algren, The New Anvil. Joined the Federal Writers Project; collected industrial folklore; assigned to Black history project with Arna Bontemps. 1942 Publication of The Fast Sooner Hound, first of three children’s books, in collaboration with Arna Bontemps. 1944 Six of Conroy’s industrial folktales anthologized in B.A. Botkin’s A Treasury of American Folklore. 1947 Published Midland Humor and became senior editor for The New Standard Encyclopedia in Chicago. 1966 Returned to Moberly. Began his autobiography and lectured at numerous universities. Published Anyplace But Here in collaboration with Arna Bontemps. 1973 Edited Writers in Revolt with Curt Johnson. 1977 Awarded honorary doctorate from University of Missouri—Kansas City. 1985 The Weed King and Other Stories published. 1990 Died at Moberly, Missouri, age 91. Buried at Sugar Creek Cemetery. 1991 University of Missouri edition of The Disinherited appears. 1994 Biography of Jack Conroy, Worker-Writer in America by Douglas Wixson published by University of Illinois Press.2000 A World to Win.

Published Works

The Disinherited, 1933 A World to Win, 1935 The Fast Sooner Hound, 1942, co-authored by Arna Bontemps They Seek A City,1945, co-authored by Arna Bontemps Slappy Hooper, The Wonderful Sign Painter, 1946, co-authored by Arna Bontemps Sam Patch, The High, Wide and Handsome Jumper,1951, co-authored by Arna Bontemps Anyplace But Here, 1966 Anyplace But Here, 1997 (University of Missouri Press) A World to Win, 2000 (University of Illinois Press) with introduction by Douglas Wixson.